A glimmer of hope appeared for Burma yesterday after a UN envoy met with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ibrahim Gambari held talks with her for 90 minutes. Suu Kyi has been placed under house arrest in Rangoon by the repressive junta.

Mr Gambari has also met with Burma's military rulers. But as yet diplomatic efforts appear not to have brought an end to the brutal crackdown of the mass protests led by the country's Buddhist monks. The talks were held as thousands of people took to the streets in Britain to protest at the violence. In London, a monk led a march past Downing Street.

In Newcastle and Brighton, demonstrators called for the international community to step up pressure on the dictators. John Jackson, of the Burma Campaign UK, said: "People have been pushed to a place where levels of poverty and unemployment are so bad, they are determined this time they will succeed."

Talks between Mr Gambari and Suu Kyi happened against the backdrop of reinforcements being drafted in to Burma's largest cities and scores more protesters being arrested.

The army violently crushed last week's mass protests, leaving an estimated 200 dead.